Marking device and harvesting arrangement for tree harvesting
The invention relates to a marking device for applying a code marking on a piece of wood. The marking device comprises several adjustable marking members, each of which comprising a marking element which is capable of applying a mark on a piece of wood and which is shiftable between different positions or states so as to allow a variation of the code marking to be applied by the marking device. At least one of said marking members (170) comprises a rotatable marking element (171), which is arranged to apply a rotationally unsymmetrical mark on a piece of wood and which is settable in different rotational positions in relation to the marking elements of the other marking members. The invention also relates to a harvesting arrangement for tree harvesting comprising such a marking device.
The present invention relates to a marking device according to the preamble of claim 1 for applying a code marking on a piece of wood. The invention also relates to a harvesting arrangement provided with such a marking device.
From WO 99/23873 A1 is previously known a system enabling a rational forest harvesting. According to one aspect of this system, the forest harvesting is carried out by means of a harvesting machine comprising a vehicle and a harvesting arrangement mounted thereon, the vehicle being provided with a computer arrangement adapted to register quality and/or size concerning harvested logs. In connection with the felling of a tree, the position of the harvesting machine is determined, for instance by means of a GPS-equipment, and a log obtained from the tree is marked by a marking device with this position information or a code by means of which the log is associatable to the position information. The position information or the code applied on a log may be stored in a database associated with data concerning quality and/or size of the log in question. In this way, it will be possible to treat the logs as products having an identity of origin. For an efficient implementation of this type of system, there is a need for a marking device which makes it possible to apply an identification marking on a log in a simple and rapid manner in connection with the harvesting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe object of the present invention is to provide a marking device of new and favourable design for applying a marking on a piece of wood, for instance on the end surface of a log.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by a marking device having the features defined herein; and
The marking device of the present invention comprises several adjustable marking members, each of which comprising a marking element which is capable of applying a mark on a piece of wood and which is shiftable between different positions or states so as to allow a variation of the code marking to be applied by the marking device. At least one of said marking members comprises a rotatable marking element, which is arranged to apply a rotationally unsymmetrical mark on a piece of wood and which is settable in different rotational positions in relation to the marking elements of the other marking members. Due to the fact that there is a possibility to use more than two different rotational positions for each rotatable marking element, the use of such rotational marking elements will make it possible to improve the variability of the code marking that can be applied by the marking device.
Further advantages as well as advantageous features of the marking device of the present invention will appear from the following description.
The invention also relates to a harvesting arrangement having the features defined herein.
Further advantages as well as advantageous features of the harvesting arrangement of the present invention will appear from the following description.
With reference to the appended drawings, a specific description of preferred embodiments of the invention cited as examples follows below. In the drawings:
The marking device according to the present invention may be used in a harvesting arrangement in order to apply a code marking on the end surface of a crosscut end of a tree trunk held by the gripping members of the harvesting arrangement. In the following, the marking device will be described with reference to this utilization. However, this utilization is only to be regarded as a non-limiting example and the marking device according to the invention may of course also be used for many other applications in order to apply a code marking on a piece of wood.
In
The harvesting arrangement 1 comprises a marking device 10 for applying a code marking on the end surface 4a of a crosscut end of a tree trunk 4 held by the gripping members 2. Thus, a log to be formed from a tree trunk 4 that is processed by means of the harvesting arrangement 1 may be provided with a code marking by means of this marking device 10. The code marking is applied on the frontal end surface of the log before the log is cut off from the tree trunk 4 and allowed to fall to the ground from the harvesting arrangement 1. The code marking is suitably associated to established and stored information as to the growth location of the tree from which the log is obtained, for instance in a manner described in WO 99/23873 A1, so as to make it possible to determine the place of origin of a marked log with the aid of the marking. In connection with the felling, information concerning the place of origin, quality, size, seller, buyer etc. of the log can be stored associated to the code marking, in which case such information can be retrieved in connection with a later reading of the code marking. The code marking can also be utilized in order to follow the movement of the log from the felling to the final customer.
In the illustrated embodiments, the marking device 10 comprises a striking arm 11 provided with a striking head 12 at its outer free end, the striking arm 11 being fixedly secured to a rotatably mounted shaft 15 at its inner end. In the embodiments illustrated in
The striking arm 11 is actuated by means of an actuating member 30, 30′. The striking arm 11 is pivotable, under the effect of the actuating member 30, 30′, about an axis of rotation 14 from a resting position (see
The actuating member 30, 30′ is suitably arranged to act on the striking arm 11 through a link arrangement 20, which is configured to accelerate the striking arm 11 during the final part of the striking arm's travel path from the resting position to the striking position. The link arrangement 20 is with advantage also configured to decelerate the striking arm 11 during the final part of the striking arm's travel path from the striking position to the resting position. In the illustrated embodiments, the link arrangement 20 comprises three links 21-23 arranged in series with each other between a base 16 and the shaft 15.
In the embodiments illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
The marking device 10 is with advantage secured to a movable support 40, which is movably mounted to the harvesting arrangement 1 so as to allow an adjustment of the position of the striking arm 11 in relation to the end surface 4a of a crosscut end of a tree trunk 4 held by the gripping members 2. In the embodiments illustrated in
The harvesting arrangement 1 suitably comprises diameter establishing means 45 of any suitable type (schematically indicated in
The marking device 10 is suitably mounted between the cutting device 3 and the feeding means 5. In the illustrated embodiments, the cutting device 3 comprises a pivotally arranged saw sword 60 having a saw chain extending around its periphery. The saw sword 60 is in a conventional manner arranged in a so-called saw box 61, which is intended to protect the saw sword and its driving equipment from impacts. The saw sword 60 is in a conventional manner pivotable from a resting position inside the saw box 61 (see
The striking head 12 is provided with adjustable marking members 70, 170 for achieving the desired code marking, each of which comprising a marking element 71, 171 which is capable of applying a mark on a piece of wood and which is shiftable between different positions or states so as to allow a variation of the code marking to be applied by the marking device. The marking device 10 comprises a regulating unit 80, by means of which said marking elements 71, 171 are shiftable between different positions or states. The striking head 12 and regulating unit 80 are movable in relation to each other into a setting position (see
In the illustrated embodiments, the regulating unit 80 is separated from the striking arm 11 so as to be unaffected by the pivotal movement of the striking arm 11 when the striking arm is pivoted from the resting position to the striking position. In this case, the regulating unit 80 will not pivot together with the striking head 12 when the striking arm 11 is pivoted about the axis of rotation 14 under the effect of the actuating means 30, 30′. The striking head 12 is in this case movable in relation to the regulating unit 80 and the setting position is achieved by moving the striking head into contact with the regulating unit.
According to the present invention, at least one of said marking members comprises a rotatable marking element 171 (see
The respective rotatable marking element 171 is preferably arranged to be rotated step by step with a given rotational angle between each step, for instance 45° or 90°. In the embodiment illustrated in
The striking head 12 is preferably also provided with marking members 70 comprising a marking element 71 (see
In the illustrated example, the locking means 92 comprises a locking plate 93, which is mounted in the striking head 12 and which is laterally displaceable to and fro between an unlocking position (see
The respective rotatable marking element 171 extends through a hole 95′ in the locking plate 93, which hole has such a dimension that the locking plate 93 does not engage with the marking element 171 in any of the two positions of the locking plate.
The locking plate 93 is movable from the unlocking position to the locking position under the effect of a spring member 94 mounted in the housing 90 of the striking head 12 (see
The regulating unit 80 comprises regulating elements 100 (see
The respective hydraulic valve 200 comprises a sleeve 210 with a closed end 211 and an open end 212, and a valve pin 220 which extends into the sleeve through the open end thereof and is slidably mounted to the sleeve while delimiting a chamber 201 inside the sleeve between the closed end 211 of the sleeve and the upper end 221 of the valve pin. The part of the valve pin 220 received in the sleeve is provided with a through hole 222, which extends in the radial direction of the valve pin. The valve pin 220 is axially displaceable between an advanced position, in which said through hole 222 is aligned with a corresponding hole 213 extending radially through the sleeve 210 so as to allow hydraulic fluid to flow across the sleeve through said holes 213, 222, and a retracted position, in which said through hole 222 is out of alignment with said hole 213 of the sleeve so as to prevent hydraulic fluid from flowing across the sleeve through said holes 213, 222. Said chamber 201 is in fluid communication with said holes 213, 222 through a narrow flow passage 202 inside the sleeve. In the illustrated example, the flow passage is formed by a recess 223 in the valve pin extending between the through hole 222 and the upper end 221 of the valve pin. The recess 223 preferably extends externally on one side of the valve pin. The hydraulic valve 200 is open when the valve pin 220 is in the advanced position and closed when the valve pin is in the retracted position. When hydraulic fluid is forced into the chamber 201 through the flow passage 202, the valve pin 220 will be displaced from the advanced position to the retracted position by the hydraulic pressure in the chamber 201 and the valve will thereby be automatically closed. The valve pin 220 is provided with an annular recess 224 for receiving a sealing member 225 in the form of an O-ring. This sealing member 225 forms a fluid tight seal between the valve pin and the sleeve. The sleeve 210 is on its outside provided with an annular recess 215 for receiving a sealing member 216 in the form of an O-ring.
The respective hydraulic valve 200 forms part of a hydraulic arrangement of the type illustrated in
The marking device 10 comprises an electronic control unit for controlling the actuating elements 307. This electronic control 130 unit may be mounted in the regulating unit 80, as schematically illustrated in
The process of setting the positions of the regulating elements 100 will now be described with reference to
The marking device 10 may be provided with a spring-actuated releasing means 50 for facilitating the withdrawal of the marking elements 71 from a piece of wood hit by the striking head 12. In the embodiment illustrated in
The mark applied by the respective marking member 71, 171 could for instance be an indentation or a dot of paint or ink. In the illustrated embodiments, the marking elements 71, 171 of the marking members 70 are arranged to apply a marking by stamping or punching on the surface of a piece of wood to be marked when the striking head 12 hits against said surface. In this case, the respective marking element 71 is in its active marking position arranged to penetrate into the surface of a piece of wood hit by the striking head 12 so as to achieve an indentation in the surface, and in its inactive position prevented from penetrating into the surface of a piece of wood hit by the striking head. The respective marking element 71 may have a rounded outer end so as to facilitate the withdrawal of the marking element from the surface of an object hit by the striking head 12. The striking head 12 could also be provided with means for attaching an information carrier to a piece of wood to be marked. Such an information carrier could be provided with a code marking and/or any other desired information and could for instance consist of an RFID-tag (RFID=Radio-frequency identification), for instance in the form of a transponder, an electronic chip, a label etc. The RFID-tags may for instance be provided on a reel actuated by suitable feeding means provided in the regulating unit 80. The striking head 12 may also be provided with a marking member in the form of a valve which is designed to emit paint or ink when the striking head 12 hits against the surface of a piece of wood so as to thereby apply a dot of paint or ink on the surface of the piece of wood.
The marking elements 71, 171 are suitably arranged in a matrix, as illustrated in
The striking head 12 is with advantage provided with at least two fixed control elements 75 projecting from the front plate 91 of the striking head 12. These control elements 75 are arranged on opposite sides of the matrix of marking elements 71, 171 and are intended to apply a control mark on the surface of a piece of wood to be marked when the striking head 12 hits against said surface. When a piece of wood has been correctly marked, all control marks should appear on the piece of wood. Thus, the control marks can be used to indicate whether or not a complete code marking has been applied on a marked piece of wood.
The invention is of course not in any way restricted to the embodiments described above. On the contrary, many possibilities to modifications thereof will be apparent to a person with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the basic idea of the invention such as defined in the appended claims. The rotational position of the respective rotatable marking element could for instance be controlled by means of an electric stepping motor.
Claims
1. A marking device (10) for applying a code marking on a piece of wood, the marking device (10) comprising a matrix of marking elements (71, 171) which applies a mark on a piece of wood and varies the code marking to be applied by the marking device 10, wherein
- said matrix comprises a rotatable marking element (171) which is arranged to apply a rotationally unsymmetrical mark on a piece of wood and is shiftable between different rotational positions in relation to the other marking elements (71) of the matrix.
2. A marking device according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable marking element (171) is rotatable about its longitudinal axis.
3. A marking device according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable marking element (171) is arranged to apply a T-shaped or L-shaped mark on a piece of wood.
4. A marking device according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable marking element (171) is arranged to apply a mark on a piece of wood by stamping or punching.
5. A marking device according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable marking element (171) is arranged to be rotated incrementally with a given rotational angle between each step.
6. A marking device according to claim 1, wherein the marking device (10) comprises a set of marking members (70) where each marking member comprises a marking element (71) which is shiftable between an active marking position, in which the marking element (71) is arranged to apply a mark on a piece of wood, and an inactive position, in which the marking element (71) is prevented from applying a mark on a piece of wood.
7. A marking device according to claim 6, wherein the respective marking element (71) of the marking members (70) in said set is displaceably mounted and is advanced when it is in the active position and retracted when it is in the inactive position.
8. A marking device according to claim 6, wherein the respective marking element (71) of the marking members (70) in said set is arranged to apply a mark on a piece of wood by stamping or punching.
9. A marking device for applying a code marking on a piece of wood, the marking device (10) comprising several adjustable marking members, each of which comprising a marking element which is capable of applying a mark on a piece of wood and which is shiftable between different positions or states to allow a variation of the code marking to be applied by the marking device, wherein
- at least one of said marking members (170) comprises a rotatable marking element (171), which is arranged to apply a rotationally unsymmetrical mark on a piece of wood and which is settable in different rotational positions in relation to the marking elements of the other marking members;
- the marking device (10) comprises a striking arm (11) provided with a striking head (12) at its outer free end and actuating means (30, 30′) for actuating the striking arm (11), the striking arm (11) being pivotable about an axis of rotation (14) under the effect of the actuating means (30, 30′) from a resting position to a striking position so as to thereby allow the striking head (12) to hit against a piece of wood to be marked; and
- the marking members (70, 170) are mounted to the striking head (12).
10. A marking device according to claim 9, wherein
- the marking device (10) comprises a regulating unit (80), by which the marking elements (71, 171) are shiftable between their different positions or states; and
- the striking head (12) and regulating unit (80) are movable in relation to each other into a setting position in which the regulating unit (80) and the striking head (12) are in contact with each other to allow the regulating unit to set the positions or states of the marking elements (71, 171).
11. A marking device according to claim 10, wherein the regulating unit (80) is separated from the striking arm (11) to be unaffected by the pivotal movement of the striking arm (11) when the striking arm (11) is pivoted from the resting position to the striking position.
12. A harvesting arrangement for tree harvesting comprising gripping members (2) for holding a tree trunk and a cutting device (3) for crosscutting a tree trunk held by the gripping members (2), wherein
- the harvesting arrangement (1) comprises a marking device (10) according to claim 1 for applying a code marking on the end surface of a crosscut end of a tree trunk held by the gripping members (2).
13. A marking device according to claim 1, additionally comprising
- a rotatable sleeve (172) on which the marking element (171) is removably mounted to be fixed in rotation therewith, said rotatable sleeve (172) being rotatably mounted but axially fixed in a striking head (12),
- a cylindrical guide member (173) received inside said rotatable sleeve (172) and axially displaceably mounted but rotatably fixed in the striking head (12),
- a pin (174) fixedly connected to said cylindrical guide member (173) and extending away from the marking element (171),
- a spring (175) mounted between the marking element (171) and the guide member (173),
- a guide track (176) extending circumferentially around the guide member (173), and
- at least one projection (177) positioned on an inner surface of the guide sleeve (172) and received in the guide track (176).
14. A marking device according to claim 1, additionally comprising a regulating unit (80) arranged for shifting the marking element (71, 171) between active and inactive positions, said regulating unit (80) comprising
- regulating elements (100) each slidably arranged within a housing (88) of the regulating unit (80) and associated with each marking element (71, 171), with the regulating elements (100) each arranged to project through opposite holes in front (89) and rear (96) plates of the regulating unit housing (88),
- an actuating element (307) and a hydraulic valve (200) arranged to control displacement of each said regulating element (100),
- the hydraulic valve (200) comprising a sleeve (210) having a closed end (211) and an open end (212), and a pin (220) received in the open end (212), defining a chamber (201) between the closed end (211) and an upper end (221) of the pin (220) and having a radially-extending through hole (222), the pin (220) being axially-displaceable between an extended position in which the through hole (222) is aligned with a radially-extending through hole (213) in the sleeve (210),
- a recess (223) arranged on an outer surface of the pin (220) between the radially-extending through hole (222) and upper end (221) thereof,
- the sleeve (210) comprising a recess (214) extending between the through hole (213) and upper end (211) thereof, and
- the valve (200) forming part of a hydraulic arrangement comprising a piston (302) slidably mounted in a bore (303) of a frame (301) in the hydraulic arrangement and separating two chambers (304, 305) in the bore (303) on opposite sides of the piston (302).
15. A marking device according to claim 1, additionally comprising
- means for individually locking each said marking element (71, 171) in extended or retracted position and comprising
- a laterally-displaceable locking plate (93) to axial direction of movement of each said locking element (71, 171) and comprising a series of holes (95) through which each said marking element (71, 171) is axially-movable between extended and retracted positions, and
- each said locking element (71, 171) comprising adjacent annular recesses (73a, 73b) such that said locking plate (93) is laterally-movable to lock said respective locking element (71, 171) in either the extended or retracted position by contacting a respective annular recess (73a, 73b).
16. A marking device according to claim 1, comprising a planar plate (91) upon which said matrix of marking elements (71, 171) is arranged, said planar plate (91) provided with a grid of holes arranged to accommodate each said marking element (71, 171).
20060096667 | May 11, 2006 | Stevens et al. |
02/13597 | February 2002 | WO |
2009/134201 | November 2009 | WO |
2009/151374 | December 2009 | WO |
Type: Grant
Filed: Jan 12, 2010
Date of Patent: Nov 8, 2016
Patent Publication Number: 20120291918
Inventor: Bengt Sörvik (Uppsala)
Primary Examiner: Matthew G Katcoff
Application Number: 13/521,654